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BEXAR
HISTORY
Continued from page 21
Below - Dr. Frank Paschal, 1893.
At right, Dr. Ferdinand Herff with graduates of the
Santa Rosa Infirmary Training School in 1903.
busy. There were no hospitals in San Antonio. Therefore, operations tried to maintain these principles in San Antonio. Dr. Herff and Dr.
were performed outdoors where there was sufficient light, as well as Cupples both served as examiners for the Texas State Board of Med-
many spectators. He is noted for being the first surgeon to perform ical Examiners. In 1853, Dr. Herff helped establish the Texas Medical
a number of operations not only in Texas, but also in the United Association and was one of the 35 charter members of the Bexar
States. These include the first hysterectomy, first surgery for Jack- County Medical Society and was a charter member of the West Texas
sonian epilepsy, perineal lithotomy, a successful appendectomy, the Medical Association. He was active in publishing medical informa-
first gastrostomy, and the first cataract operations. These operations tion and journals, and he helped establish the West Texas Medical
were performed between 1847 and 1879. It is noted that with the and Surgical Record, which for a number of years was a credit to
gastrostomy, which was performed on a teenage girl who had swal- medical journalism.
lowed lye, he did the gastrostomy in order to be able to introduce
nutrition through a tube in her stomach. This appeared to be un- Dr. Herff was an active member of the Hessian Association of
successful for a few weeks until he added the girl’s saliva to the con- Physicians and Surgeons, and a member of San Antonio’s Casino
tents of the food being introduced into the stomach, and thereafter Club. In addition, he was director of the San Antonio National
the child thrived tremendously. Bank, which was affiliated with the San Antonio Loan and Trust
Company, and was identified with the Lacoste Ice Company, the
As mentioned earlier about the TMA’s report in 1885 of the sur- first to manufacture artificial ice in the United States. In April 1859,
gical procedures performed in Texas by the 138 surgeons, it is noted the first drugstore where prescriptions could be filled opened in the
that of the 4,293 surgical procedures performed, Dr. George Cupples home of Dr. Herff.
and Dr. Ferdinand Herff performed 25 percent of the total.
Dr. Herff, during his earlier years in South Texas had learned sev-
In 1891, at the founding of the University of Texas Medical School eral Indian languages. As a result, he had a number of Native Amer-
in Galveston, there was a statewide movement to have Dr. Herff ap- ican patients. He had successfully performed bilateral cataract surgery
pointed as the first chairman of the Department of Surgery. He de- (one of the first in Texas) on an Indian chief, restoring his sight. In
clined, preferring to remain in his home in San Antonio and 1886, Geronimo, the famous Apache chief, while imprisoned in Fort
continue his private practice. He became close friends with Dr. Cup- Sam Houston, requested a visit from Dr. Herff. They conversed in
ples, and they worked tirelessly to maintain ethical behavior for both Apache and together recalled many medical stories in which Herff
their businesses and professional dealings. The American Medical had been involved with the Indians. Later in 1888, the Lipan
Association established a Code of Ethics in 1847 and both these men Apaches were on one of their final raids and they rampaged through
22 San Antonio Medicine • January 2016
